Gadbury, John ‘Genethlialogia, or, the Doctrine of Nativities, Containing the Whole Art of Directions, and Annual Revolutions: Whereby, any man (even of an Ordinary Capacity) may be enabled to discover the most Remarkable and Occult Accidents of his Life, as they shall occur unto him in the whole Course thereof, either for Good or Evil. Also, Tables For Calculating the Planets Places for any time, either Past, Present, or To come. Together with The Doctrine of Horarie Questions; Which (in the absence of a Nativity) is sufficient to inform any one of all manner of Contingencies necessary to be known’ Printed by Ja: Cottrel, for Giles Calvert, at the black Spread-Eagle neer the West-end of Pauls; William Larner, at the Blackmoor neer Fleet-bridge, and Daniel White, at the seven Stars in S. Paul’s Church-yard, 1658[1].
Two copies. Copy A: Half-cloth with paper-covered boards (binding breaking after title leaf). [8 leaves] + 251 + [pp. 254 (1) -255 (1)] + [pp. 254 (2) – 255 (2)] + pp. 256-267] + [pp. 269-270 (1)] + [pp. 270 (2) – 276] + [pp. 213-218][2] + [1 leaf] (= title to second part) + 36 + [p. 45] + [p. 38] + [4] + [p. 41] + [1] + [pp. 42-45] + [pp. 230-231] + [pp. 48-87] + [1] + [pp. 90-125] + [pp. 226-7] + [pp. 128-156 (1)] + [p. 156 (2)] + [pp. 158-187] + [p. 198] + [pp. 189-192] + [p. 183] + [pp. 194-204] + [p. 502] + [pp. 206-232] + [1 leaf] (= title to third part) + [pp. 235-246] + [p. 237] + [p. 248] + [p. 245 (2)] + [pp. 250-294] + [10] pp. Copy B: Vellum (boards bowed and separating at top and bottom of spine). [Frontis.] + [9 leaves] + otherwise as Copy A except lacks the additional pp. 213-218 at end of first part.
[1] With added title page to second part: ‘Primum Mobile: or, Astronomical Tables shewing the Declinations, Right Ascensions, Ascensional Differences, and Oblique Ascensions of All the Points of the Ecliptique, From One Degree, to Sixty, of Latitude. Together with Tables of The Circle of Position, serving for Nativities, In all parts of the world, where the Pole is elevated not above 60 Degrees. As Also, Tables for Calculating the Planets places, for any time, either Past, Present, or To come. Serving as a Second Part to The Doctrine of Nativities’ Printed by J. C. for William Larnar and Daniel White, London, 1658. With added title page to third part: ‘The Doctrine of Horary Questions, Astrologically Handled: Wherein are Propounded and Answered All necessary Questions Contingent to the Life of Man. Added by way of Apendix to the Treatise of Nativities Before going’ Printed by J. C. for William Larner, at the Blackmoors head neer Fleet bridge; and Daniel White, at the seven Stars in Paul’s Church-yard, 1658.
[2] NB: pp. 213-218 at the end of the first work, headed ‘A Century of choice Rules or Aphorisms, fit to be considered by those that practice the Genethliacal Part of Astrologie’, are not headed with the title of the book, unlike all other pages, but are in a compatible type face and on matching paper, suggesting they were the contemporaneous work of Gadbury. It is unclear whether they are taken from another published work of his or whether they were included only in some early printings of this work. The paginations for the present work in institutional library records do not allow for their inclusion.
About this Book Scan
Carefully scanned in full colour using the best available pages from our two variant originals purchased in the 2000s.
John Gadbury’s Genethlialogia or the Doctrine of Nativities is one of the 17th century’s most famous English-language texts on natal astrology. His Doctrine of Horarie Questions, which was issued under the same binding, is also of considerable interest to students of traditional horary astrology